Edinburgh Fringe Review: Bristol Improv for Hire

In a mesmerizingly witty piece of improvised comedy, Bristol Improv dig out their ties and shirts and dive into an all too familiar world that shakes up the funny bone of students, employees and anyone who has ever staggered through the larks that are the recruitment process.

If you have ever wanted to be Lord Alan Sugar and send young hopefuls flying around on pointless expeditions for a job title you have made up, then Bristol Improv allows you as the audience to do just that. With just a handful of graduates and a boss at your disposal every day, the audience dictates the job that the candidates will fight for as well as the interview process through which they must clamber.

With surely some of the sharpest young minds on the improvised comedy circuit, Bristol Improv managed to establish a rip-roaring narrative full of startling characters and unforgettable one-liners. Within just 55 minutes of laughs, I’d seen a Hogwarts war, a lion trapeze and a quest for the Holy Grail (Monty Python fans- I cannot promise this happens every night.).

By setting up a very clear frame and situation, I felt this production managed to strike a wonderful balance between inspired improvisation and controlled storytelling that rarely came across as amateurish. It is a well-known fact that it is the bits that go wrong and the ad lib in a production that can often provide the funniest moments of a show and here you have nearly an hour of just that in a way that proves to be utterly captivating.

As part of the PBH’s Free Fringe, I cannot accept any excuses for not going to see this show. Just make sure you’re the right candidate for the job by bringing along an open mind, a brain full of ideas and a good dash of humour.

**** – 4/5 Stars

Bristol Improv for Hire is playing at the WhyNot Nightclub 3-4pm every day except Tuesdays, 4th-25th August at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For more information see the Edinburgh Fringe website.